Scars of Beauty
by RoyalTearDrop
Summary: The beauty and elegance of scars may not only be physical. Rating for non explicit nudity and some mautre thinking. Please R&R. Date chapter up!
1. Prolouge

Through the eyes of most, Ayeka Jurai would be considered a woman of high beauty. Long deep violet hair that gleemed when she took her mid-day strolls through the feilds, deep pink eyes that were bright with curiousity and warmth, skin so smooth and pure not even tears could stain it.  
  
But did this by any means stop her from spending hours staring into her mirror at night, traces over each scar and beauty mark? From picking through each robe or dress until she found just the right one, or from only picking at her food in hopes that she would lose that little pudge there or that she would keep that curve and not the other? Of course not.  
  
On one particular night, when Ayeka was lying quietly in the bath, a spiral of soft bubbles surronding her bare body she rose her legs up above the luke warm bath water and sighed, tracing over her knees and calves with her slender finger tips.  
  
If only my legs were the tinniest bit longer, she thought inwardly sighing quietly so that her chest rose a bit and then fell again.  
  
Letting her legs slip back into the water, she then turned her attention to her hands, small and slender scarless and elegant. She turned them so her palms were a few inches from her tiny button nose and stared at her skin, barely beginning to prune from the moist water they had been placed into it. Frowning, Ayeka lightly ran her finger tips up and down her forehead, and then let them trace down her nose, her chin, her neck and then swooped down to her shoulders and then rested at her breasts.  
  
Sliding her fingers down the soft flesh of her pleasantly rounded breasts, she sighed and shut her eyes. Maybe if they were bigger I wouldn't have to wear such high necked clothing, maybe then I could wear, oh what's the word Ryoko always uses, sexier, yes that's is, clothes. Maybe then Tenchi would like to look at me more, I wonder if he likes to look at me..  
  
Opening her eyes again, Ayeka patted her hands down at her stomach and she again sighed. Her stomach was slender and smooth, the skin so soft that it felt as if it were on a new born babe, but she didn't care, she could only see one spot of pudge there, one wrinkle of fat over there.  
  
Looking up at the cream colored tiles that crossed the ceiling above her, Ayeka ran her fingers slowly through her hair, feeling the wet strands enclose around her hands. Slowly, she rose from the tub, shivering a bit at the sharp jolt of the cool air nipping at her body.  
  
Carefully stepping out of the tub onto the light purple colored bath matt, she reached for her towels and gently patted her body dry, tiny water droplets still dripping from her hair and hitting the tiled floor beneath her with a tink. Glancing into the slightly fogged mirror, Ayeka took the large wooden comb from the side of the sink and began to sweep through her hair, wincing slightly as the sharp bristles tore into the small knots that had formed through her locks.  
  
Maybe if my hair was softer, it would make me seem more beautiful. She thought silently as she placed the brush back onto the side of the sink, not noticing the few strands of deep violent hair that was still in the bristles.  
  
Walking out of the bathroom, Ayeka shut off the light and silently padded her way down the hall into her bedroom, then shutting the door quietly behind her and dropping her damp body towel to the ground. Shuffling over to her closet, she picked through her nightgowns and finally pulled out a white one, with short sleeves a light scoop neck and that reached down to her ankles.  
  
Slipping it over her still slightly damp body, Ayeka shivered a bit and and then crawled into bed, pulling her blankets up high around her.  
  
I wonder what it would be like if Tenchi could be here with me, she thought inwardly, tracing her finger tips along the edges of her pillow case. I wonder if he ever thinks about the things I think about, before he drifts off into his world of what I hope are dreams of me.  
  
As she slipped off into a longed for blissful state of sleep, she failed to hear Tenchi scoot his way nearly silently into the bathroom. He dropped his bathrobe onto the shut toilet lid, and turned to stare into the still lightly fogged mirror.  
  
Whiping away the moist areas from the mirror, he glanced down to the edge of the sink, and spotted a brush balanced on it. Picking up the smooth wooden handled brush, he frowned knowing it wasn't his. Just before he was about to toss the brush onto the towel rack, he noticed the long beautiful strands of violet hair that were lined in the bristles.  
  
"Ayeka." He spoke her name with nothing more than a whisper, and gently ran his fingers up and down the brush, knowing her delicate hands had held this, not too long ago.  
  
After a few moments of hesitation, he sighed and then shuffled out of the bathroom and to her bedroom. He saw the door shut, and peeked in through a small crack, seeing the lights off. He wondered if it was wise to step inside, and after a few moments decided the hell with it, and slinked in silently.  
  
Seeing her sleeping form, he moved over to her bed and looked down at her for a few moments, smiling a little. He placed her brush on her bedside table, and lightly kissed her forehead, his lips brushing against her baby soft bangs.  
  
"I love you Ayeka." He whispered, before shuffling silently out of the room again, shutting the door lightly behind him.  
  
After he was safely away, Ayeka rolled over onto her side, and whispered into the night, "I love you too Tenchi."  
  
*~I realize that this is an odd story. This can be left to stand alone, or it can be added to. If I get eight or more reviews, I will add to this. If not, I'll probably leave it to stand alone. Obviously, this is a Tenchi and Ayeka story, if you're a Ryoko and Tenchi fan, please don't flame me just for that reason. If I add to this, this part will probably be called the Prolouge, and yes the part of Ayeka's thoughts of beauty and self worry will continue to be wrapped into the plot, and there will be a lot of mention of the other women in the story also, of course. Please review, I appreciate it a lot. Thanks a ton.*~ 


	2. Chapter One

*~Before you begin to read the story, I find that you must read this annoying author's note first. . First, I forgot my disclaimer in my earlier chapter. I do not own any of the Tenchi Muyo series characters, places, etc. I am simply using them for this fanfic. Also, although I didn't get the eight reviews that I had requested, I decided to post this new chapter. Why? Because the reviews I did get were all good, and they willed me to go on. I appreciate those of you who reviewed, ::hug::  
  
And now onto the story.... *~  
  
Chapter One  
  
Knealing outside by the quickly blossoming garden near the Masaki home, Ayeka sighed and glanced up at the sky. The sun was full and bright, it shone down it's rays with such force Ayeka found herself wishing that she could strip out of her robes and simply walk around in a slip or nightgown. Blushing a bit as this thought hit her, she rolled her eyes in frustration of herself and sighed.  
  
"Foolish thinking will get nor you or I anywhere." It wasn't the first time that she had muttered that phrase under her breath, it was something that her father had long said to her, in fact she couldn't remember doing or saying something foolish and not have him say that to her.  
  
Adjusting her large tan colored sun hat, Ayeka slipped her small amount of tools back into her pale violet garden bag, scooped up the sky blue water jug, and stood up. Looking around the empty yard, she could feel the imense power of the thick air around her. No one else was outside, there were no blasts or screams or the echoing blows of something, or someone for that matter, being tossed against a wall. 'It almost feels unnatural.' She thought, as she began to walk slowly back to the house, feeling sweat dribble down her forehead.  
  
As she stepped inside the house, she was hit with a burst of cold air, and opened her eyes wider in surprise. Stepping into the living room, she glanced around and rolled her eyes. Kiyone was perched ontop of one of the large cushioned seats arms, Mihowshi was lying on her stomach on the sofa, Ryoko was sitting on the air conditioner, in a position that she would of liked to call sultry but a position Ayeka would of called... something that just simply wasn't in a princesses proper vocabulary, and Sasami was fanning herself with a large brightly colored paper fan with Ryo-Ohki in her lap.  
  
"Ayeka!" Sasami cried, looking up at her elder sister in a mix of surprise and mild shock. "I can't believe you were outside working in this weather!"  
  
As the others turned and looked at Ayeka, mirroring similar expressions to the one Sasami was upholding, Ayeka felt a light flush begin to creep up the bottom of her neck.  
  
"Well, you see.. I wasn't working persay. I was simply checking on the lovely flowers that myself and my sister have worked for to keep healthy.. Isn't that right Sasami?" She had began talking with mild confidence, and then in the last bit she glanced back over to Sasami, her eyes wondering over her younger sisters face.  
  
Nodding, Sasami smiled a bit and said, "Oh yes, Ayeka and I have worked quite hard on those flowers... Next time sister, you should ask me to help you, after all they're my flowers too."  
  
After a few more minutes of idle chit chat and rather akward laughter, Ayeka quickly excused herself upstairs, and hurried up to the bathroom. There, she shut the door tightly behind her, and stared into the mirror.  
  
Seeing how her sweat soaked bangs were smooshed against her forehead, and how her robes were slightly ruffled and then as she glanced down and saw the hanful or so of stray pieces of grass that decorated her shoes, she sighed and sat down on the edge of the tub.  
  
'At least Tenchi didn't see me in this state.' She thought inwardly, slipping off her shoes and tossing them over near the door with a light clunk. It was a mild but somewhat rewarding consolation.  
  
Standing back up, she splashed some cool water onto her face, and then brushed out her hair with her fingers, realizing that her brush wasn't still in the bathroom where she had left it the night before. Shrugging this thought off, she fixed her robes and cleaned off her shoes, before heading daintly back down stairs, knowing that lunch would soon be ready.  
  
Scooting into one of the unoccupied kitchen chairs, Ayeka looked to her left and saw Kiyone; who at the moment was trying not to smack Mihowshi, and then looked to her right and saw no one. 'Maybe Tenchi will happen to sit there...'  
  
In a moment of pure irony, Tenchi popped into the kitchen smiling idly, and then took the seat next to Ayeka. "Hello there Lady Ayeka, how are you doing today?"  
  
Nearly jumping, Ayeka forced herself to smile pleasantly and said, "Oh I'm fine, thank you. How are you doing today Lord Tenchi?"  
  
As he rambled on kindly about this or that, Ayeka bit down on her bottom lip a bit and tried to uphold a smile. Even the air conditioner wasn't killing all of the heat, and was trying her hardest to uphold her dignified position with class and elegance. Flopping over the table and smelling sickly of sweat and weak purfume certainly didn't qualify as either of those.  
  
"And lunch is served." Sasami's sweet voice cut into Ayeka's thoughts and she looked over at her sister, as she procedded to place a large bowl of beautifully cut up salad in the center of the table.  
  
As the others gushed over how nice it looked and how perfect it was for a day like today, Sasami slipped into a chair and beamed, a light tinge of a pale pink blush inching into her cheeks proudly. Ayeka smiled over at her sister, and poured herself some tea, before passing the kettle onto Tenchi.  
  
"Thank you Miss Ayeka." He said, as he took the hot kettle from her dainty hands, and poured himself a small cup.  
  
"You're welcome Lord Tenchi." She responded, in a tone that she hoped was of mild enjoyment and ease.  
  
Later, in the midsts of the lunch, something happened that would make Ayeka feel like a little school girl again, giggling and laughing with her little friends and thinking about it long into the night when she should be asleep.  
  
It started out harmlessly enough, Ayeka merely asked Tenchi to pass her the kettle again, and as he did so, the kettle began to slip from his hands, and as Ayeka reached to catch it, his hands enclosed over hers, and they stayed like that for a moment longer than expected.  
  
Blushing, he murmmered, "I'm sorry Lady Ayeka, I er.. Didn't mean to drop the kettle.. Are you alright?"  
  
Nodding, Ayeka said quietly, "Yes Lord Tenchi, I'm fine." And then turned away a bit, hoping to hide her flush.  
  
The somewhat touching mood was quickly destroyed when Ryoko let out a loud belch and began to laugh, and the others stared at her, unimpressed.  
  
"Oh Ryoko." Said Washu with a mixture of dissapointment and embaressment, for she had stepped into the kitched just in time to see and hear her belch.  
  
At that Ryoko only continued to laugh, and then leaned over the table to peck an already embaressed Tenchi on the cheek, before phasing away.  
  
"Lovely." Ayeka muttered under her breath, and Tenchi heard her and chuckled lightly.  
  
"Oh yes, she is quite lovely isn't she? Just the ideal of class." He said, and gave Ayeka small wink.  
  
It was later that evening, when Ayeka was perched out on the porch swing and writing in a small lilac colored notebook, when she Tenchi out by her garden. Looking up in mild interest, Ayeka stood up quietly and walked over to the edge of the porch, trying to see what he was doing.  
  
Squinting her eyes in the dim light, Ayeka saw him kneal by the flowers, and saw him pluck one from the moist ground. He rose it to his nose and sniffed it, and she could barely make out the smile on his face. Just before he began to walk back to the house, Ayeka scurried back inside, feeling quite content.  
  
*~Alright, there you have it, the official Chapter one. I've decided that as long as I get at least five reviews per chapter so far, I will continue this story. If not, I'll just leave it until I get them or until someone somehow contacts me and convinces me to continue on. I hope that you all like this story, and yes I realize that I left it off at a rather odd note. And everything will begin to interlock more and more as the story goes on, if I continue it I mean, so if you're interested please review!*~ 


	3. Chapter Two

*~Ah thanks to my reviewers. ::big hug:: I really appreciate it. ^. ^ I hope that you all enjoy this next chapter, and I hope that my characters stay as true to the story as they can. The five review thing still stands, and I really hope that you all enjoy this. Please review if you want more~*~  
  
Chapter Two  
  
The day had gone by with an almost sickening pace of slowness. Never before had Ayeka stared at the hands of the clock so long that her eyes had begun to sting. There was a thick silence through out the Maskai home, maybe it was because the air conditoner had finally blown or because Sasami was near panick over the missing dressing sauce, but no one was in the mood for chit chat, to say the least.  
  
At the moment, most of them were gathered in the kitchen, most of them meaning Ayeka, Sasami, and Washu, who at the moment was typing away on her traveling computer, paying no mind to anyone else.  
  
Ayeka didn't really mind the silence, she was in midst of painting each of her finger nails a pearl pink color, and felt content to watch them shimmer from the glow of the over head kitchen light. She began to hum a little tune under her breath, and got lost in a turmoil of her own thoughts for a bit, not noticing the arrival of several more members of the seemingly randomly thrown together adopted family enter the room.  
  
"So Princess." Ryoko's spunky voice cut into Ayeka's head, and she jumped a bit, spilling the small bottle of nail polish.  
  
"Oh! Ryoko, for Christ's sake look at what you've made me do!" Sighing frustrated, Ayeka shot Ryoko a death stare and began to wipe up the spilled polish with several white table napkins.  
  
Laughing, Ryoko held out her sparkly midnight blue nails and said, "You could never pull a color like this off Princess," and continued to laugh; well cackle rather.  
  
Rolling her eyes, Ayeka walked over to the small trash disposal by the sink and said, "Ryoko, I don't want to pull off a color like that, for god's sake." As she tossed away the napkins and went to sit back in her chair, Ryoko continued to cackle and then, just before Ayeka sat down she pulled the chair out from under her.  
  
Ayeka hit the floor with a loud thump, and cried out in an embaressed surprise. By this time, Kiyone and Mihowshi had stumbled into the kitchen too, and they giggled along with Ryoko, and Ayeka was rather hurt to see that even Sasami was poorly restraining a chuckle.  
  
"Oh honestly. It's not that funny." Standing back up, Ayeka adjusted her robes and reached for her chair, a hot blush burning on her face, neck, and even her ears.  
  
"Are you alright, Lady Ayeka?" Tenchi's almost boyishly concerned voice broke in through the mild laughter filling the room, and Ayeka felt the hairs on the back of her neck stick up and bit down hard on her bottom lip.  
  
Whirling around, Ayeka knocked over her chair again and as she tried to find something half intelligent to say to Tenchi, got her leg tangled in the fallen chair and fell back over. Of course, the rest of the people in room took up one of Ryoko's signiture traits, cackling.  
  
Stumbling back up, Ayeka could even feel her chest and shoulders blushing a hot shade of red, and she picked up her chair, swinging it back into place and plopping down in it, tears nipping at the corners of her deep pink eyes.  
  
"I'm.. I'm fine, thank you Lord Tenchi." She spoke her words with much force, if it had been anyone but Tenchi who had asked she would of probably ignored it, but she just couldn't ignore him.  
  
The laughter had died down by then, and the others were beginning to look at each other akwardly, waiting for someone to say something. Tenchi sensed this, and cleared his throat waiting for the others to look over at him, which they quickly did.  
  
Holding out a thick bouquet of dark violet and pale pink flowers, Tenchi glanced across the table from him to Ayeka and said, "I hope you don't mind Lady Ayeka, but when I was on my way back from the feilds earlier, I couldn't help but pluck some of your beautiful flowers for the table.. I hope that that's alright with you."  
  
Ayeka slowly rose her head, the blush lightended but still lingering on her ivory skin. Glancing up into Tenchi's warm dark eyes, she saw the brightness in them, and gave him a small smile before saying, "Oh yes Lord Tenchi, that's quite alright.. I'm glad that you like them."  
  
Nodding, Tenchi plucked the withered flowers from the vase in the center of the table, tossed them away, and placed in with tenderness the new flowers. Everyone around the table looked at them and nodded in approval, commenting lightly about how nice they looked and what a green thumb Ayeka had; well all except Ryoko who was at the moment cleaning a spot of dirt off of the toe of her shoe.  
  
Lunch was finished rather quickly, although Sasami's lovely cooking skills hadn't failed her, the salad did taste rather dry, but there was a surprsinly abundant amount of tea which helped a good amount. It was later that evening though, when Ayeka was watering the flowers again, when Tenchi appeared once more, seemingly out of nowhere.  
  
"Hello there Lady Ayeka." He said with an almost scarily joyful voice.  
  
Being lost in a random state of thoughts Ayeka, jumped a bit at the sudden break in the silence, and she turned around quickly, teetering on her heels. "Oh, well er, hello Lord Tenchi. What brings you out here this evening?"  
  
Smiling down at her, Tenchi knealt down on the ground next to her, and gestured to the small garden before them. "Your flowers," he said and grinned at her, barely seeing the tender blush in her cheeks. "You have a wonderful touch for nature, Lady Ayeka. But I'm sure you realize that already."  
  
Smiling softly Ayeka felt a steady warm blush spread throughout body from being under his almost loving stare. In a quiet voice, Ayeka looked up at him and as her eyes met his she felt her heart skip a beat or two, and she herself not wanting to look away.  
  
"Why.. Why thank you Lord Tenchi. That's very kind of you to say."  
  
Grinning even broader, Tenchi said, "It's the truth Lady Ayeka, no need to thank someone for saying the truth."  
  
There were a few moments of a rather content silence between the two of them, with the light sound of crickets chirping idly somewhere in the background, before Tenchi cleared his throat and glanced back over at Ayeka, who was now staring at up the fading sunset, and waiting for her to adjust her gaze to him.... He certainly did love it when her gaze was on him.  
  
Looking back at him, Ayeka's eyes wandered his face and waiting patiently for him to begin speaking. Feeling her eyes on him, Tenchi suddenly felt his heart rate quicken a bit, and shifted uneasily from foot to foot.  
  
"Well Lady Ayeka.. I was just er.. Wondering if you would like to.. join me for lunch tomorrow after noon." There, he had said it. Looking back into her eyes, Tenchi felt as if a great load had been lifted off of his tired shoulders.  
  
Giving him a puzzled look in return, Ayeka said slowly, "Well that's very kind Lord Tenchi.. But don't we eat lunch together every afternoon?"  
  
Opening his mouth a bit, Tenchi paused and arched a brow slightly before responding. "Well, Lady Ayeka.. I meant would you like to join me for lunch tomorrow.. In the speaking of just you and me, together."  
  
The unique mixture of surprise, heart throbbing, and blush can make some people react in ways that they would normally avoid. For instance, after Ayeka yelped out, "Oh! Why of course, I'd love to Lord Tenchi." and then continued on to wrap her lilac robe clad arms around him.  
  
They stayed like that for a few moments, Ayeka not realizing what she was doing and Tenchi too stunned at her sudden burst of forwardness to think of a single thing to say. Blinking open her eyes though, Ayeka realized what she was in the midst of doing and jumped back a bit feeling one of her famous blushes rising through her body.  
  
"I apologize Lord Tenchi.. I didn't mean to act upon my influences so forcefully.. I apologize."  
  
Smiling over at her, Tenchi chuckled and said, "It's quite alright Lady Ayeka, quite alright. So.. tomorrow at noon?"  
  
Nodding shyly, Ayeka tried to regain a dignified hold on herself, and desperatly tried to mentally calm the flush that was now covering as much of her body as was visible through her robes.  
  
Before Ayeka excused herself to her bedroom, Tenchi gently touched her shoulder and held up a beautiful deep violet rose, one so powerful with color and life that it nearly took his own breath away.  
  
Holding it out to her, Tench said, "Out of everything that you've done and said, I think that this flower represents you the best.. Powerful, elegant, and beautiful." And with that, he tenderly placed it into her hand, nodded to her, and walked back in the direction of the house, his figure slowly getting lost in the dim light that the barely there moon was beginning to let glow upon the Earth.  
  
Mirroring the motion that she had seen Tenchi do only the night before, Ayeka held the flower up to her noese and sniffed it, smililng a bit. Ironically enough, Tenchi was on the porch, watching her smell the flower and smile, and he strolled back into his home, feeling quite content.  
  
*~This is really only a connecting chapter, next one will be their date! If you're interested or want more, review please! I only ask for five! I promise, the next chapter will be fluffy! Hehe, push the review button and finish the job m' friends. *~ 


	4. Chapter Three

~* Ah thank you to my reviewers, as always! I'm glad to see that this story is getting some positive attention, dismissing the one sour one that I got. X_X Anyways, I hope that you all enjoy the new installment of the story and I hope that I stay true to the characters.*~  
  
Tapping her finger nails on the off white colored cafe table top, Ayeka glanced down at them and saw all of the chip marks that covered the tips of them. Sighing, she rolled her eyes and put her hands down on her lap, leaning back in her chair.  
  
She had been waiting there for roughly ten minutes so far, and still no sign of Tenchi. Of course, she was also still five minutes early, but she still would of liked to see some kind of sign that he was as anxious about this "date" as she was. And besides, she thought trying to brush off anything that would show her nerves away, being punctual could never be considered something to frown upon.  
  
Taking a slow breath, Ayeka shut her eyes for a moment and then glanced at her reflection in the large mirror hanging on the wall near her. She was pleased to see that her pink lip stain was still on, and that the mascara had worked well to make her lashes look longer and fuller. Smiling a bit to herself, she settled back into her seat again and decided to just enjoy the cool feeling of the air conditioning on her legs and not worry about the "date" until Tenchi arrived, which turned out to be much harder than one would hope it'd be.  
  
Whistling softly under his breath, Tenchi walked in a quick pace towards the lunch place that he and Ayeka had decided upon, his hands resting in his wind braker pockets, and his mind racing. 'Finally,' he thought, opening the heavy glass door and stepping inside, feeling the jolt of the air conditioning stifle the hot air he had just come from. His eyes searching over the faces in the mildly full room, he soon saw the back of Ayeka's head and smiled, before walking briskly over to her.  
  
"Good afternoon Lady Ayeka." He said warmly, and sat down across from her, a grin stretching across his boyishly sweet face.  
  
Remodling herself into what she hoped was a position of ease, grace, and overall a carless natural beauty, she smiled lightly and twisted a small lock of hair around a finger before saying, "Good afternoon to you also Lord Tenchi, I'm glad you were able to come."  
  
Reaching out for one of the two sky blue and sea green colored menus in the center of the table, Tenchi continued to smile over at her and responded with an almost irritating easiness, "Ah yes Lady Ayeka, I too am glad that we were both able to make this little date of ours."  
  
Feeling a soft blush burn in the tops of her ears, Ayeka bit down a bit on her bottom lip and continued to smile, not quite knowing how to respond. There was a mild silence between them for a few moments, and the light chatter and the humming of the air conditioner seemed to be only background music to the thoughts that were tumblilng around each of their love smitten minds.  
  
Finally, Tenchi handed the remaining menu to Ayeka and said, "Oh please excuse me Lady Ayeka, I apologize."  
  
Taking the menu from Tenchi, she felt her heart flutter a bit as their finger tips grazed each others over the words "daily special" scrawled upon the front cover of the menu. "Oh, what's wrong Lord Tenchi?" her voice came out strangled a bit, as if she had gulped down a drink to fast or had something caught in her throat.  
  
Coughing a bit, Ayeka put the menu down in front of her and placed one hand over her chest, tilting her head downwards a bit, rather embaressed. Frowning, Tenchi stood up and stood next to her, lightly resting a hand on Ayeka's right shoulder.  
  
"Are you alright Lady Ayeka?" It seemed to be a favorite phrase of his lately, him using it so much. Nodding, she frowned and felt her cheeks flush with a pale pink color, partically from the coughing and partically from the feeling of Tenchi's tender touch on her skin.  
  
Tenchi returned to his seat, and they talked idly about this or that for a bit, each of them ordering their lunch, which they decided on simply ordering a large plate of rice balls to split. They ate in silence for a few minutes, Ayeka cautiously picking through her food, sipping at her tea, Tenchi feeling her sudden akwardness also began to feel odd and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, trying desperatly to muster up some means of conversation.  
  
Clearing his throat, he stumbled out with, "So er, Lady Ayeka... What's on your mind?"  
  
Glancing back up at him, Ayeka layed her spoon and fork back down on her plate, and cupped her delicate hands around her warm tea cup. "Well," she began with a growing smile, "several things."  
  
Sensing her sudden drop of akwardness, Tenchi gave himself a silent moment of personal recognition and smiled back at her, "Oh?" He inquired in return, his eyes playing games with hers, "And may I ask what those things are?"  
  
Hearing the playfullness in his voice, Ayeka breathed deeply in and out several times, not wanting to stumbled over her words or look like a fool, she needed a witty but sweet and classy response. They were so hard to come by these days.  
  
"Well I suppose yes Lord Tenchi, I'll allow you to ask what those things are." She tried to add a playful tone to match his into her voice, and hoped that he didn't find it fake or irritating.  
  
Her eyes bore down on his face, waiting for any sign of a laugh wrinkle or a cringe, and she saw nothing at first, but then she glanced into his eyes and saw the brightness in them, the way that the tones of brown and slight dots of gold shone under the sunlight bearing down through the window, and she felt suddenly content and rather blessed.  
  
Chucking lightly, Tenchi sipped his tea easily and crossed his legs, leaning back further in his seat. "It's good to hear laughter in your voice Lady Ayeka. If you don't mind me saying, it sounds quite lovely."  
  
For once the feeling of a blush flowing through her body wasn't something that she repused, and Ayeka smiled back, almost proud of the pleased flush glowing softly in her face. "Why thank you Lord Tenchi, you're so very kind."  
  
They continued on like that for a bit, exchanging flirtatious comments that made Ayeka flush and smile and that made Tenchi chuckle lightly under his breath, and they both picked at their food; Tenchi soon noticed that the more relaxed Ayeka's speaking and body language became the more comfortably she seemed to eat.  
  
It was later in the afternoon, much after most of the other couples their for lunch dates had left, when Ayeka glanced out of the window and raised her eye brows slightly, surprised at how low the sun was already setting in the sky and at how quickly the time had passed away. Later, as the two were slipping into their coats and leaving the tip for the waitress;whom by the way looked oddly like Washu, Ayeka noticed a large banner being hung near the exit of the cafe, and in large deep blue and crimson red letters it red, "Come, see the plan of your love and life settled out infront of your very own eyes."  
  
"Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka said, as she slipped her chair back under the table, "What do you suppose that banner is advertising?"  
  
Glancing over to the direction she was gesturing to, Tenchi read over the sign and shrugged. "I'm not sure, wanna go take a look?"  
  
Nodding, Ayeka smiled a bit and and the pair walked over, and as they neared the newly set up table, nearly in sync they both realized what they had just walked into; fortune telling.  
  
Two eccentric older women were sitting at the table, along with a young, spunky looking girl with bright pink hair and sapphire blue eyes. As they saw Ayeka and Tenchi glance at each other and begin to walk further the other way towards the exit door, they winked at each other, and knew it was time to work their tarrot cards and catchy chants as much as they could; after all these were their two very first potential customers.  
  
"Hello Miss!" Cried one of the two elder women, leaping in front of Ayeka, a smile stretched across her tanned skinned face and the long ribbons from her braids swaying from her hair.  
  
As the other women crowded around Tenchi, they both stood there uncomfortably, not wanting to be rude and just walk off and not wanting to get tricked into spending their last bit of money on a fake fortune cookie. Ah, the trials of life.  
  
After several highly akward moments of somewhat impressive chit chat, the women had convinced them to at least take a "free for one" fortune, and handed them several phamplets all about the wonders of how to create their own fortune cookie and where to find the best on sale tarrot cards.  
  
Scooting quickly out of the cafe, Ayeka and Tenchi stood side by side in the light dusting of light still glowing from the barely there sun, and looked down at the folded paper in their hands.  
  
"Do you think it's wise that we open it?" Asked Ayeka, glancing from the paper up to Tenchi, and then back down to the paper.  
  
Shrugging a bit, Tenchi sighed and said, "Well I don't see what harm could come from it.. May as well I suppose." And with that he carefully opened it, and the two of them read aloud what was scrawled neatly on the paper in a quick, loopy green inked cursive.  
  
i Time flies when you're having fun.. But it flies even faster when you're in love.. Put your heart in tender hands, for it may not always be caught before it shatters i  
  
Looking up into each others eyes, Tenchi paused a minute, and then crumpled the paper up into a ball in his hand, and then tossed it on the side walk. "You didn't want to keep that, did you?" He asked, after realizing she hadn't said anything.  
  
Shaking her head no, Ayeka smiled a bit and said, "Of course not Lord Tenchi, it's nothing more than a showing of what idle time can do to a mind of trickery."  
  
Chuckling, Tenchi smiled down at her, and the two walked back to the Maskai home together, not talking about the words that they had just read, and not even daring to mention the impact that they may very well later have of them..  
  
*~There! I wrote the damned date! . I know it's horrible, I can't write date scenes well, as you can obviously tell. I apologize for any spelling or grammatical erros, my computer has been acting up lately so I don't think the spell check is working properly, so please ignore the errors. I know that this is an awful chapter, but if you'd like to read more please please review, I welcome all suggestions and opinions. Thanks a ton.*~ 


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